I'll Always Belong To You
by KassieMarie
Summary: Opening night of Haly's Circus. Sounded like fun to Darla Jean, and going with her friend Chloe practically guaranteed that. What she didn't expect was to have her night changed by one chance encounter with the red-headed son of the snake charmer. She just hoped that she would be able to see him again. (Prequel story to One Last Laugh)


**A/N: Full backstory time! This story details how Darla Jean and Jerome met as well as how her story played out alongside Jerome's in the show. There will be lots of soft Jerome, so that means FLUFF! Also some limes later on. I don't write lemons, so just fill it in with your imagination ya filthy! ;)**

 **DJ is an OC that I created for the story** _ **One Last Laugh**_ **, but you don't have to read that before this. It is their backstory after all!**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

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Chapter 1: What's Your Name?

The cold fall breeze hit my legs as my long peacoat billowed softly around my knees. A dark red beanie kept my long brown hair in place covering my ears, shielding them from the wind. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, taking in the crisp air.

Walking to and from school was something I enjoyed, especially during the fall and winter months. The cold never really bothered me. In fact, it was almost calming. I'd rather be cold than boiling hot.

"Hey DJ!"

I turned around and saw my friend Chloe waving me down. Her curly blond hair bounced slightly as she ran towards me. Her blue eyes shined as she smiled. Chloe's my closest friend and she always had a smile on her face. It seemed like nothing could bring her down.

"Hey Chlo," I smiled at her. Once she caught up with me I could tell that she was overly giddy. She had some good news. "What's up?" I asked her.

"The circus is in town!"

"The circus? You're into that kind of thing?" I asked her, humored by her excitement about a circus.

"Well duh! The circus is full of interesting people doing extraordinary cool things!" Chloe skipped ahead as we continued walking towards our school, Anders Preparatory Academy. "Wanna go? Opening night is tomorrow!"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Depends, what kind of acts will be there?"

Chloe laughed a little. "Who cares? It'll be really cool! Plus there's bound to be good food!" Chloe grabbed my arm. "Come on, DJ. Please?"

I looked at my best friend's eyes. They seemed to sparkle with excitement. I rolled my eyes at her as I laughed a bit. "Ok, ok, Chlo. I'll go."

"Yay!" Chloe jumped up and down. "I'll have my car come to get you at 5 tomorrow. Be prepared to stuff your face!"

The warning bell rung as we walked up the stairs. "Oh!" Chloe jumped. "Gotta go. See ya at lunch DJ!" Chloe waved as she ran off to her class. Honestly, going to the circus sounded like fun, especially opening night on a Saturday. I just hoped my brother would let me go.

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"Please, brother," I begged. My older brother, Harvey Dent, didn't like it when I would go out. Especially with Chloe. He never trusted her and it frustrated me to no end. "I promise to be _extra, extra_ careful! If anything happens, I'll call you right away."

Harvey sighed. "Why the circus, Jean? Can't you two go shopping or something that normal teenage girls do for once?"

"Harv… I really wanna go."

My brother's brown eyes met my grey ones. Even though we weren't blood-related, Harvey never let me feel like I was adopted. Especially in moments like this when he went into 'overprotective-older-brother' mode. He was determined to not let me go.

"The circus opens this weekend, right? There's bound to be more psychos roaming around during the first few days."

"And nice families too! The circus is always full of parents with children."

Harvey sighed deeply. "Fine," he said as he rubbed at his right temple. He looked me square in the eye as he pointed at me. "But I expect a call once you get there and once you're leaving. Your phone should always be on just in case. And promise that you'll call me if anything happens."

I nod in excitement. "Promise!"

* * *

Chloe dragged me through the rows of booths that were set up on the circus grounds. We both were very excited, but I kept mine hidden. Don't need two 18-year-olds who are mere months away from graduating acting like 5-year-olds in a candy store. That would just be embarrassing.

We stopped at one booth to get some sweets when I heard sniffling. I could tell it wasn't coming from a child. I looked around and saw nobody but the soft sounds of crying continued. I looked over at Chloe and she was absorbed into the menu of sweets the booth offered. I figured she'd be here for a while, so I decided to follow the soft sound that held my attention.

I walked a few feet away from the booth before turning the corner of one of the tents and stopped in my tracks. I knew it wasn't a little kid crying, but I didn't expect to find a young man with his head tucked into his arms as they rested on his knees. His fiery red hair stood out against his dark coat. I hesitated for a moment before deciding to approach him.

"Hey," I said softly. His sniffling stopped as he looked up at me. His eyes were bloodshot. He quickly wiped away his tears and stood up.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I didn't expect anyone to come this way. I.. I'll be going."

He turned to walk away but I reached out and touched his arm. He quickly moved away from my touch and turned around. He looked almost scared. "I'm sorry," I told him. "I didn't mean to startle you but you don't have anything to apologize for. If anyone should apologize it's me."

The young man shook his head. "No. I interrupted you enjoying your time here."

"On the contrary, I've been dragged around by my friend for the past hour. We haven't seen any acts yet."

He looked at me confused. "Why not?"

I chuckled a little. "Because she's obsessed with food. She enjoys going to a circus or carnival to eat as much as she can before actually seeing the attractions and then proceeds to fall asleep because she falls into a food coma."

He smiled a little as he looked away from me. "She seems quite interesting."

"She is," I nod. We stand in silence for a moment and I take the opportunity to look at the man now that he was standing still. Tall and slender with red hair, soft yet dark green eyes, and barely visible freckles that dusted his cheeks. He slouched a little bit, but I could tell if he stood straight he would be quite a few inches taller than me.

Overall, he was quite attractive and _very much_ my type. His eyes darted towards mine and I could feel a light blush try to make its way onto my face.

"So," I said trying to keep my cool. The longer he looked at me the more I was drawn to him. "What's your name?"

He blinked a little, startled that I would ask that. "Uh… my name's Jerome." He said quietly.

"Jerome," I said softly. His name felt so natural to say.

"What's your name?" Jerome asked, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Darla Jean," I told him. "My friends call me DJ, though."

"DJ," he said before shaking his head. "That doesn't feel right," he mumbled. "Jean… Darla," he whispered before nodding and looking back at me. "Is it alright if I call you Darla?"

I usually hate people calling me by my first name, usually preferring either Jean or DJ. Not even my teachers call me Darla! But for some reason, when Jerome spoke my name it felt like there was no other name out there for me.

I shyly nodded. "Sure."

We smiled at each other for what seemed like an eternity before I heard Chloe calling me.

"Hey DJ!"

I turned my head towards the direction of her voice before looking back at Jerome. "That's my friend."

"You should go," he said. "Shouldn't keep her waiting too long. There's about one more row of food vendors just over there."

He pointed to a row of vendors just around the corner from the tent we were shielded by. "I should be going too," he smiled. I could tell it was a sad smile as he turned and started to walk away again.

"Wait!" My body moved on its own as I called out to him. I gently grabbed his hand. Jerome turned to look at me, confused. "Why don't you hang out with my friend and I tonight? The circus is always better enjoyed with friends."

He chuckled a bit as his other hand came to rest on top of mine. "I wish I could, but I need to get back to my trailer."

My eyes grew wide. "You're a part of the circus?!"

Jerome shook his head. "No, my mother is. She's the snake dancer."

"Woah…" I said.

"DJ! There you are!"

I turned around and saw Chloe walk over. I could tell she noticed Jerome and I watched her eyes travel down to our hands before shooting back up to mine. I knew the look she was giving me and I instantly regretted going for his hand earlier.

I let go of his hand and smiled. "Hey, Chlo."

Her eyes traveled over to Jerome once again before she looked at me, a knowing smirk on her face. "I got close to the front of the line and you were MIA. How am I supposed to order for you when you disappear without telling me?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Sorry, Chlo."

I looked over to Jerome and I could tell he was about to split. It may have been selfish, but I didn't want him to leave yet. I quickly placed a hand on his shoulder, or as close to it as I could get without my arm looking weird, and looked at Chloe.

"Chloe, this is Jerome. Jerome, this is my friend Chloe."

Chloe gave Jerome one of her megawatt smiles. "Nice to meet ya!"

Jerome nodded."Likewise."

"Jerome tells me that there's one last row of food just over there. Can you scout it real fast, Chlo? I'll meet up with ya real quick."

"Alright…" Chloe said eyeing me again. She is _so_ going to grill me later and I was not looking forward to it. "I'll see you later, Jerome." She waved and took off. I sighed and looked at Jerome.

"Sorry 'bout that," I said. "My offer still stands though, Jerome."

Jerome shook his head. "Thank you though, but I do need to head back. My mother will most likely be getting ready for her act very soon."

There was something in his eyes that made me feel a little unsettled whenever he talked about his mother. I wanted to ask him about why he was crying, but I had a feeling he would either avoid the subject or lie. We're both strangers to each other after all. So I just nodded.

"Alright."

Jerome nodded. "Well, goodnight Darla."

"Night, Jerome."

He turned and started to walk away. He was only a few feet away from me before something inside me told me to stop him once again. There was just something about him that I couldn't see him just walk away. At least not without a way to talk to him again. My hand went inside my jacket pocket and found a piece of paper and a mini pen.

"Jerome!"

He turned to look at me. "Yes?"

I jogged to catch up to him. "How long is the circus going to be in Gotham?"

Jerome shrugged. "A couple weeks. Why?

I smiled as I took out the paper and pen. I scribbled down my number and handed the paper to him.

"Here, it's my cell number. If you ever need a friend to talk to or even just hang out with while you're in town just call. I'll come running."

Jerome took the paper from me and smiled. "Thank you, Darla."

We smiled at each other for a few seconds before I remembered I told Chloe I'd catch up with her. I took a big breath. "Well, have a good night Jerome."

"You too," he said with a soft smile. Everything in my heart told me to stay with him, but my mind screamed to get back to Chloe. I was already going to get grilled by her. Might not want to add more to the flames.

I gave him one last smile before I turned and walked away. A few feet later my cell rang.

"Hello?"

" _Just wanted to make sure you got my number, too,"_ Jerome said on the other line. I turned around and saw him standing in place, that smile still on his face. He gave me a small wave.

I waved back. "And now I've got it. Call whenever you want. If I don't pick up right away, I promise I'll call you back as soon as I can."

" _It's a deal."_ He said. " _Goodnight Darla."_

"Night Jerome."

We hung up and he turned in the opposite direction and walked off. I watched him as he turned a corner and disappeared. As I went to rejoin Chloe all I could think about was that ginger-haired boy and hoped that I would get to see him again. And soon.

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 **A/N: So that was longer than expected. This chapter takes place roughly about a week and a half before 1x16, The Blind Fortune Teller. I'm not sure when exactly Jim and Lee went to the circus, but thanks to what the Ringleader said when he took Jim and Lee to where they found Lila's body, I always thought that the circus was in its final days in Gotham and they left a day after Harvey talked to John and Mary.**

 **I hope y'all liked this! It's fun trying to write a smol Jerome before he killed his mom. What was he like around people? Especially the circus goers if he bumped into them. And how would he act if a girl approached him randomly? I hope I did his character justice but I do look forward to when he can let his true self shine, even if it's just a little bit.**

 **Thanks for reading! I'll see you very soon!**


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